Authors: Donna Flynn
“She’s not going to die man
, Nina will save her,
” Kirk said realizing he never had a chance with Mercy
,
not when there was another who loved her so thoroughly.
“Alec
maybe you should go and cleanup,
” Lucan said noting the
considerable
amount of blood that c
overed his bare torso leaking
down to
soak
th
e top of his jeans
.
“Not until I
know,” h
e said kneeling
down next to the bed,
resting his head
on,
Mercy’s blood soaked hand
.
Lucan watched as Nina worked over his sister
,
her body vacant as she repaired the damage from t
he inside out. The
blood
had
stoppe
d
flowing and the wounds mended
leaving behind large puckered
scars that covered her neck and chest.
Time ticked by as they waited
,
uncertainty filled the room wi
th each passing minute. No one said a word
,
the room stilled as if in limbo
,
the only reminder of time passing was the clock on the wall that ticked loudly
reminding them of each passing minute
.
After an hour or so had passed
,
Nina came back into her
own
body
with a gasp
rising
unsteadily
with Lucan’s help
to look down on her patient
. “
I need to clean her and see how much damage has been done
on the outside
,” s
he told
him sitting in the chair Kirk
p
ulled next to the bed for her before h
e went to the bathroom and g
ot her a washcloth and a basin
of water
.
“How is she?” Gregory asked walking into the room
his body taunt with concern.
“I mended her internally
,
but the gauges were deep
,
th
e only thing that will heal her
completely
and help
avoid scarring id to shift
,
” Nina
said as she
finished wiping away
the last of the blood from Mercy’s torso th
en pulled
the blankets over her
.
“No!” Alec p
rotested
immediately
.
“Son, we have to do what is best for Mercy
. T
he shift will heal her quickly
and there will be no scaring
to
her skin
.” His father looked to Lucan for help
knowing his son would listen b
etter to him who loved as much he did
.
“Alec if we don’t so t
his she will be scarred
for the rest of her life.
I
f there were any other way I swear I would not ask this of you
,
but it is the only
option.” Lucan sat on the bottom of the bed placing
his head in hi
s hands worry for Mercy consuming
him.
“If
she is fo
rced to shift
what happens when the next full moon comes?” Alec asked
desperately
.
“We ca
n face that when the time comes,” Gregory answered calmly
.
“Have you thought about the changes she will experience
? Don’t you think she will notice she is
stronger and faster than
her friends
are
?
Do you really
believe she will not notice the effects the change will have on her
?
Have any of you considered these things?
”
“We are not taking this lightly son
,
but it has to be done.” Gregory placed his hand on Alec’s shoulde
r. “You are her mate only you can make this choice.”
“You can’t ask me to do this she will hat
e
me for it when she finds out
.”
He lowered his head in shame
,
but his
father placed his calming hand on his shoulder
.
“She alre
ady is one of us
. I
t has always been a matter of
time before she began to shift,
”
h
e reminded him.
“But it could have been years before that happened.” He looked into his father’s eyes seeing the compassion and love he held for him and knew he was running out of excuses. Mercy needed him to be strong
,
to make the decision for her
,
and he had to accept
that role even if it meant
she would despise
him for it
later
.
“Fine just do it.” He turned away
,
but his
father stopped him with his next words
.
“I can’t son
,
she’s not pack
,
at least not mine
,
this would take her sire or her mate and since we obviously can’t call on Mather you are the only option.” Alec turned
snarling low in his throat
so quickly Gregory took a step
back
unsure how to react
.
The obvious rage his son was experiencing was of no concern
, Alec might be strong
,
but he was stronger
. I
t was t
he fa
ct he had dared to turn on his
Alpha
that
was very tell
ing of his feelings for the girl on the bed
.
Alec’s jaw clenched,
the muscles in his arms bulged as he stared at his father
angered
by his revelation
,
enraged he would have to be the one who made Mercy the very animal she loathed
.
“Alec relax now.
”
His father’s voice spread c
alm through him despite the anger
that had taken hold
,
a sign of how truly powerful Gregory
was as
an
Alpha
.
Alec let it flow through him knowing it would do no good to Mercy
to challenge his father
,
not when all he wanted was for her to be well again
.
H
is father walked closer and p
laced his hands on him
forcing him to look at him. “Now you will know how very difficult it is to be
Alpha
, to make the decisions no one wants to make. You are yo
ung
,
I had never anticipated you
finding your mate so soon
in life
,
but there she is and she needs you to be strong for her now. Will she hate you when she finds out? Maybe
,
but I think after she adjusts she will understand and forgive
.
Mercy is not some airheaded
,
snot nosed kid
,
she is intelligent and brave
.
Given time I think she will understand and forgive us all.
”
“Luc
an?” Alec turned to her brother
wanting his approval
.
“I hate it,
I never wanted to push this
,
but your father is right she will shift
one day whether we want it or not at least now it will help her from being scar
r
ed
for life
.”
He was saddened,
but
resigned. T
he time had come for Mercy to take her place among them
whether she was ready or not
.
Nina placed her hand in h
is offering
support
.
“She will wake soon
,
it is tim
e to do this.”
“Call to her son
,
she will responded and when you shift she will join you.”
Gregory said moving out of the way.
“I will wait do
wnstairs
with Kirk
,” Nina murmured
offering them privacy
.
“Thank you,
” Luc
an said squeezing her hand before letting her go
.
Alec
lay
on top
of
the sheet
nex
t to Mercy pulling her into his arms
.
“Angel,
” h
e whispered in her ear. “I need you to follow me
,
let my wolf guide you.”
H
e opened his mind to her
,
letting her see and feel his change
,
so she would not be sur
prised when her own body followed suit. His skin slithered
over bones that reshaped themselves popping and morphing until
he gave
an
ear-piercing growl,
shifting
easily
into
a
large black wolf at her side.
His wolf moved
over her
,
his massive paws on either side of her body
covering her a
s he bent to nip
at her exposed shoulder
trying to coax her to shift. She moaned and fought to get away even in her unconscious state
,
but it only made his wolf that mu
ch more demanding
.
H
e ni
pped her once more and
somewhere deep inside
her wolf responded letting out a howl of
discovery
before rising inside of her.
He felt the moment her body bega
n the change
,
watched through canine eyes as her skin flowed seamlessly over her reforming bones
,
howling in displea
sure when
she
fought against it and
cried out
in pain.
The only comfort he could offer was the warmth of his body and the wet
caress
of
his nose as he nudged her to let her know he was there
.
Most first time shifts took a long time
,
but she was beautiful
,
shifting so fast from human to wolf that he refused to
blink afraid he might miss it. With o
ne
last
long m
ournful ho
wl and she finished the shift and i
n the place of her human form lay
a gorgeous red
furred
wolf
unlike any he had ever seen before. He could not have been prouder of his mate
,
but sudde
nly she opened her panic filled eyes
and
growled
,
bucking him off the bed.
His larg
e body slammed against the wall
releasing a spray of plaster
and he inwardly cursed himsel
f for not anticipating her confusion and anger
.
“Mercy stop,
” Lucan held his hand out and she sniffed it tentatively before looking around in
puzzlement
.
Her gaze
moved
to where a giant wolf
paced on his four massive paws
across the room
growling at her brother before turning its familiar amber eyes on her.
Confused
and horrified
she looked
to Lucan and Gr
egory
for help
,
whimpering loudly.